MJ's Mother Tears Up Hearing His Music in Court
Michael Jackson's mother Katherine was brought to tears at one point during Monday's court session of the negligence lawsuit against AEG Live over the King of Pop's death.
The Jackson matriarch teared up during the trial's first day of testimony when attorneys working on her behalf played the pop star's song You Are My Life, accompanied with footage of a Christmas morning when Michael gave his children a dog.
Michael's brother Randy was also present, but left the courtroom on Tuesday along with his mother when a paramedic took the stand to describe the measures that were taken in an attempt to revive the pop star, who died at age 50 in June 2009 after receiving a powerful dose of the anesthetic propofol.
Katherine Jackson is the chief plaintiff in the trial, which seeks $40 billion in damages from AEG Live by alleging that the company was negligent when it hired Dr. Conrad Murray to oversee Jackson's medical care as he prepared for a series of comeback concerts. A jury of six men and six women will determine any monetary damages.
Murray, who was supplying Jackson with propofol, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his death in November 2011 and is currently serving a four-year jail sentence. Attorneys for the physician had argued that the pop star was addicted to the drug and self-administered the fatal dose when Murray left Jackson's bedroom.
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AEG Live officials have denied any wrongdoing in Jackson's death and the company's lawyers have maintained that executives could not have foreseen the circumstances that led to Murray giving Jackson doses of propofol for use as a sleep aid.
During opening statements on Monday, AEG Live defense lawyer Marvin S. Putnam alleged that Jackson hid the extent his medical issues with all those around him. "The truth is, Michael Jackson fooled everyone," he said. "He made sure that no one -- nobody -- knew his deepest, darkest secrets."
Putnam told jurors that it was Jackson who requested Murray's treatments, and was ultimately was responsible for his own death. "This case is about personal choices," he said. "Also, it was about his personal responsibility. There's no question that Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy. I believe the evidence will show it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making."